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Urban ecosystem conditions and ecosystem services – a comparison between large urban zones and city cores in the EU

Kourdounouli, Christina and Jönsson, Anna Maria LU (2020) In Journal of Environmental Planning and Management 63(5). p.798-817
Abstract
Almost three out of four EU citizens live in urban areas. Knowledge on the city’s environmental structure and capabilities is needed as urbanization is expected to continue. In this study, eight indicators on urban ecosystems condition (ECIs) were quantified for 305 EU cities (>100.000 inhabitants). A composite indicator (CI), based on the ECIs, indicated differences between northern and southern EU countries, with Umeå having the highest CI value (1.56) and Napoli the lowest (−1.21). Positive effects of urban green infrastructure (GI) were found for NO2 removal, recreation opportunities and lowered urban heat island effect. The proportion of green and built infrastructure differs between city cores and larger urban zones, and the area... (More)
Almost three out of four EU citizens live in urban areas. Knowledge on the city’s environmental structure and capabilities is needed as urbanization is expected to continue. In this study, eight indicators on urban ecosystems condition (ECIs) were quantified for 305 EU cities (>100.000 inhabitants). A composite indicator (CI), based on the ECIs, indicated differences between northern and southern EU countries, with Umeå having the highest CI value (1.56) and Napoli the lowest (−1.21). Positive effects of urban green infrastructure (GI) were found for NO2 removal, recreation opportunities and lowered urban heat island effect. The proportion of green and built infrastructure differs between city cores and larger urban zones, and the area outside the core hosts a considerable part of the overall GI. This zone is thus of importance for the provisioning of urban ecosystem services, to be considered when planning for urban growth and climate adaptation strategies. (Less)
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author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Journal of Environmental Planning and Management
volume
63
issue
5
pages
20 pages
publisher
Taylor & Francis
external identifiers
  • scopus:85068161013
ISSN
0964-0568
DOI
10.1080/09640568.2019.1613966
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
b85c74b7-02f9-4bbd-987d-ccbaac4445eb
date added to LUP
2019-06-27 11:12:06
date last changed
2022-04-26 02:12:15
@article{b85c74b7-02f9-4bbd-987d-ccbaac4445eb,
  abstract     = {{Almost three out of four EU citizens live in urban areas. Knowledge on the city’s environmental structure and capabilities is needed as urbanization is expected to continue. In this study, eight indicators on urban ecosystems condition (ECIs) were quantified for 305 EU cities (>100.000 inhabitants). A composite indicator (CI), based on the ECIs, indicated differences between northern and southern EU countries, with Umeå having the highest CI value (1.56) and Napoli the lowest (−1.21). Positive effects of urban green infrastructure (GI) were found for NO2 removal, recreation opportunities and lowered urban heat island effect. The proportion of green and built infrastructure differs between city cores and larger urban zones, and the area outside the core hosts a considerable part of the overall GI. This zone is thus of importance for the provisioning of urban ecosystem services, to be considered when planning for urban growth and climate adaptation strategies.}},
  author       = {{Kourdounouli, Christina and Jönsson, Anna Maria}},
  issn         = {{0964-0568}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{5}},
  pages        = {{798--817}},
  publisher    = {{Taylor & Francis}},
  series       = {{Journal of Environmental Planning and Management}},
  title        = {{Urban ecosystem conditions and ecosystem services – a comparison between large urban zones and city cores in the EU}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09640568.2019.1613966}},
  doi          = {{10.1080/09640568.2019.1613966}},
  volume       = {{63}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}